Times reporter Hiroko Tabuchi takes readers to a Fueling U.S. Forward-sponsored event—a gospel concert in Richmond, Virginia—where DJs surprised some attendees with a free month of utility bill payments and regular shout-outs to fossil fuels.

Though few in the crowd knew it, the concert had a powerful sponsor: Fueling U.S. Forward, a public relations group for fossil fuels funded by Koch Industries, the oil and petrochemicals conglomerate led by the ultraconservative billionaire brothers David H. and Charles G. Koch. About halfway through the event, the music gave way to a panel discussion on how the holidays were made possible by energy — cheap energy, like oil and gas.

The concert flier was adorned with a red car bearing Christmas gifts. “Thankful for the fuels and innovation that make modern life possible,” it read.

As Tabuchi notes, this strategy to sing the praises of fossil fuels represents a new turn for the Koch’s approach to energy and climate, which has traditionally “involved financing research skeptical of climate change, backing pro-oil politicians and ballot initiatives, and fighting incentives for renewable energy, all through a network of charitable and political organizations.”